The Ministry of Transport held a meeting dedicated to the development of maritime infrastructure and increasing the potential of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). Participants noted that the TITR is a key transit corridor between the East and the West, and that cargo volumes have more than doubled over the past two years.
Particular attention was paid to the growth of container transit from China: about 23.5 thousand TEUs were transported in the first nine months of this year, which is 20 times more than the figures for the entire last year. On average, about 40 container trains are sent along the route per month. Plans to attract new cargo flows from Chinese provinces were also discussed, which could increase the number of container trains to 3,000 per year.
Following the meeting, instructions were given to modernize the infrastructure of the Kuryk port and complete dredging in this port by the end of the year. Construction of a container hub has begun in Aktau, and it is also planned to update the handling equipment. Transport Minister Marat Karabayev emphasized the need to create shipbuilding capacities in Kazakhstan, which will allow the merchant fleet to be replenished with new vessels in the medium term. The synchronous development of transport infrastructure will become the basis for further growth of cargo traffic on the TMTR.